


Prince

by Hellokaelyn



Series: Fictober 2019 [12]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, sometime post 17x01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 03:04:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21008657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: "One day, a boy will come along who makes you feel special. He'll look at you in a certain way..and you'll just know."





	Prince

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this quickly so excuse how lame and or rushed it is.
> 
> Prompt: "What if I don't see it?"

On a chilly night only weeks from the holidays, Barbara Bishop was squeezed in her daughters twin bed with Ellie curled against her side.   
  
Little Ellie's eyes were drooping but she refused to sleep just yet.   
  
"Mama?"   
  
Barbara closed the book she had just finished reading. "Yes sweetie?" She ran her fingers gently through Ellie's hair making her snuggle closer.   
  
"How will I know if I find my prince?" Ellie asked in a small voice.  
  
"Oh you have a long time until then sweetie."   
  
Ellie pouted. "But how will I know?"  
  
"One day, a boy will come along who makes you feel special. He'll look at you in a certain way..and you'll just _know_."  
  
Ellie's eyebrows furrowed as she thought. "What if I don't see it?"  
  
"It might take a little while-" Barbara told her. "But you'll see it..you'll feel it."  
  
"That's confusing mama."  
  
Barbara laughed, kissing her daughter's head. "It can be, but it's a beautiful thing once you find it."  
  


* * *

  
  
Ellie grew up. She became a realist and stopped believing in such things.   
  
Jake wasn't her prince but she loved him and he loved her. For a while at least.  
  
Qasim wasn't her prince either, but this was real life, not some fairytale. That was proven when the man closest to a prince she ever got was taken from her right before her eyes.   
  
Nick was unexpected.  
  
He came crashing into her life and slowly but surely turned it on its head, causing a whirlwind of emotions within her in the process.  
  
Just the idea of him being her prince was laughable.  
  
Until it wasn't.  
  
Ellie stood in front of him, close enough to touch if she lifted her hand. Nick hadn't said a word since hitting the emergency button in the elevator and coming to stand in front of her.  
  
In fact, he hadn't said a word since their little argument in the middle of the squad room. It set her nerves on edge, and his close stance didn't help matters.  
  
It was a stupid argument over the case, a case that was already solved. But they both knew a fight had been brewing for a while, ever since her accusations and only growing when she commented on his drinking.   
  
Ellie had been afraid to look him in the eye, as they had looked either angry or emotionless when looking at her lately. She hated it and it made her unsettled.   
  
But then she did.  
  
And her knees weakened as the realization hit her. Nick reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his body to keep her up in case it happened again.  
  
"Ellie?" He asked, worry coloring his tone.   
  
Ellie was only able to mumble that she was fine. And as she felt his arm about to unwrap from around her, she gripped his jacket tightly. He got the message, now wrapping his other arm around her so she was cocooned in his arms.   
  
His eyes.   
  
Filled with so much strong emotion that she could _feel_ and she wondered how blind she really had been.  
  
That longing, heat, _love_.   
  
Her mom's words echoed in her head and Ellie wanted to cry because she was right all this time, and Ellie had shoved it aside the older she got and the more life hit her.  
  
_You'll just know_  
  
Ellie lifted her head, looking him in the eyes. "Nick?"  
  
"Yeah?" Nick said it slowly, completely confused by her actions.  
  
"Take me home?"  
  
His eyebrows scrunched together. "Wasn't I doing that anyway?" She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, watching as the realization slowly dawned on his face. "Oh!"  
  
"Ellie- what-"  
  
She pressed her finger to his lips. "Just take me home."  
  
Slowly he nodded, a spark of amazement flashing across his eyes, as if this was the last thing he expected, as if he couldn't believe this wasn't some dream.   
  
Maybe it was a bit spontaneous and crazy but Ellie didn't care.  
  
Her prince did exist. And he had been right there for _three years_.  
  


* * *

  
  
That weekend when she called her mom, the happiness in her voice was the first thing Barbara picked up on and asked about.  
  
"Mom..I found my prince."  
  
On the other line Barbara breathed in sharply, that being one of the last things she expected to hear as her daughter didn't believe in things like true love and soulmates anymore.   
  
"Oh Eleanor.."  
  
"I'll send you a picture when we hang up." Ellie told her with a grin that could even be heard over the phone.   
  
An hour later Barbara's phone dinged with a text, and a laugh escaped her when she opened it.  
  
She wasn't even surprised to see her daughter grinning happily with a certain fellow agent that her daughter had taken to talking about everytime she called home.   
  
With a smile she saved the picture.  
  
That night Barbara went to sleep easier and more peaceful then she had the last few years since Eleanor became an agent. She knew Nicholas would be there for her and protect her, just like a prince. 


End file.
